There is a Man Sitting on Gods Throne

I find this fascinating. The scripture tells in Revelation 13:8 that Jesus was “the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made”. In reading this we understand that all the events of human history starting with Adam in the garden were known before hand by God and He had already negotiated with the Son to secure our eternal restoration to Himself, in a word redemption.

Colossians 1:20 says “20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross”.

So God was not caught off guard by Satan’s tempting of Adam and Eve and their fall was known before hand and already reconciled through an agreement amongst the Father, Son and Spirit. This plan was actually forged before the foundations of the world were laid, in other words the agreement and plan of salvation goes back to well before man was created.

When God created man we are told in Genesis that He created us in His own Image. Man expressed to the new creation the Physical appearance as well as the spiritual characteristics of God. We tend to think of Adam as being a cheap copy of poor quality and yet what artist would do a self-portrait that did not resemble themselves. What would it say of God if He was not able to create a perfect representation of who He is to be expressed in the world He had just created? It seems to me that if He created man to be a knock off inferior copy that the scripture would say so. Just thinking and typing out loud. Instead he goes on to declare that man would be like Himself (Us)

Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:26-27

Now consider ask why would God create man in this way? What is His purpose in creating man like this? I don’t have the eternal answer to this but as I dig deeper into the scriptures I find some interesting things that make me ask that question again. Why did God choose to make man in His image, why was that necessary? Again I say fascinating. We are told in John Chapter 1 that someone called “the Word” existed before everything and that He was co-creator with God and equal to God and that everything that was made was made by Him. “The Word” Is the creator. We are told in verse 14 of John 1 “ So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”

So creator now becomes man? Why? I know it is to fulfill the agreement that was made before creation began but as I look at the following scriptures declaring both Christs deity and humanity I am further intrigued by the thought of why man was created in the image of God.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11 (NLT)

The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. Hebrews 1:3

Pay special attention to the fact that Jesus sat down at the right hand of God. The same place He occupied before the creation and his birth in Bethlehem.

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, Colossians 1:15-19

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do. John 14:8-11

I could go on at great length with scripture after scripture but the picture I want to paint is this. God knowing ahead of time all that would happen and the price that it would take to set things right goes ahead with the creation of man in His very own Image. Man was (is) the crown of all of creation and yet God knew that His top creation would fail Him and rebel. Not only does He have a plan but that plan includes Him coming into the earth as one of us. In a human body which is created in the image of Himself for the purpose of restoring us to Himself. Paul goes on to actually call Jesus the second Adam though he contrasts the physical attributes of the Adam created for earth and the Adam who came from Heaven.

The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:45

So back to Hebrews 1:3. Think about the fact that there is a man, 100% human flesh sitting at the right hand of God. A man sits on the throne! Could it be that Adam had to be in the image of God in order for the entire plan to work and if so what does that mean to us?

Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 1 John 3:2